SPECIAL REPORT:

Dirty Politics 1 year on – what’s changed?

By Martyn Bradbury

In August of last year, Nicky Hager released his bombshell book, Dirty Politics, which highlighted a level of corruption and abuse of political power at the heart of NZ’s democracy that has never been seen before.

Just imagine what the political effect would be if John Key and Tim Groser came home from Maui with grim faces and patriotic words. Picture them on the stage of the Beehive theatrette answering questions from a clamouring crowd of journalists.

The state no longer has the beneficence that it had in that middle part of the twentieth century. Its mission now is mainly to deny support in order to cut costs. So the concept of ‘state’ has had its day. In its place are the concepts of publicness, and of governance.

The collapse of the Chinese stock market, the Greek economic collapse and forced continuation of a failed austerity regime, together with the speculative surges in property prices in Auckland and many other cities of the Pacific Rim – all have a common source.

TIM GROSER may be a lot smarter than even his most fervent supporters claim. It’s just possible that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) – as currently drafted – is the document he had in mind all along.

In August of last year, Nicky Hager released his bombshell book, Dirty Politics, which highlighted a level of corruption and abuse of political power at the heart of NZ’s democracy that has never been seen before.

I don’t think we should judge by the small turn out to a protest outside Serco today that the issue of private prisons is not important. I’ve been fighting this since National mooted prison privatisation in 2008 and I had no idea this protest was even on.

One of the problems of having a right wing mainstream media that has simply become an echo chamber for the hosts’s ego is that when the host goes up against someone on the Left who actually knows their stuff, they get ripped to shreds.

Kim Webby’s incisive and compassionate new documentary, The Price of Peace, about Tūhoe campaigner and kaumatua Tame Iti and the so-called “Urewera Four” is arguably the most brilliant and compassionate film portrayal of race and cultural relations in New Zealand in contemporary times.

New Zealand does not consider itself to be racist. But what we don’t seem to understand is that the act of choosing that name was an act of passive racism. “Whites” is a term that has always been used to mean “white people,” especially in the context of segregated societies like apartheid South Africa and the southern United States.

Established about two years ago, Snort is a regular improv group that adopted a format from New York that does a great job of getting rid of the slow, awkward moments of improv that seem to often get stuck and spend a lot of time going nowhere.

In a musical genre which lauds the pursuit of fame and riches (the title of Cent’s first album – “Get Rich or Die Tryin” being the archetypal exhibit A), what is it about failure that appears to be so exceptionally appealing for ringside commentators to mock?

Pam Corkery has provoked and enlightened during a long career in journalism, a short stint in Parliament, a brief encounter with a brothel and six years of alcohol and drug free living. Fresh from Dancing with the Stars, Pam will be dancing her own verbal steps at July’s Ika Salon.

This weeks guests are Street Chant front woman Emily Littler and former librarian and radio personality Sigrid Yiakmis. We talk about music, following your dreams, living life to the fullest and why Sigrid cried during mad max.

We are delighted to have secured seasoned political raconteurs Jacinda Ardern MP, Matt McCarten and Michael Wood to square up against the cutting prowess of Denise Roche MP, Martyn Bradbury and Cr Cathy Casey.

In response to the international campaignlaunched by the IUF to defend basic trade union rights at the upscale Bagan Hotel River View in Myanmar (Burma), management is now screening job applicants to identify potential union supporters. Applicants are asked if they know anyone who is a union member and are warned that if they join the […]

Business “appalled” with government’s treatment of KiwiRail The rail workers’ union is backing calls from Mainfreight chairman Bruce Plested for “more positive support for long-term rail infrastructure”, says Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) General Secretary Wayne Butson. “Earlier this month Treasury documents revealed that the government had received advice to downsize or shut down […]

Child Poverty Action Group says the Minister of Social Development Minister should give a full explanation of why benefit levels were not raised immediately following the 2015 Budget. Radio New Zealand reported on Saturday 25 July that the Government considered increasing benefit payments immediately but decided against it. “Mrs Tolley was asked at the [National Party] conference […]

The union representing service workers including security guards is appalled with the National government’s health and safety reforms announced today. The Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) opposes the Health and Safety Reform Bill, which does not protect all New Zealand workers as it excludes small businesses from the requirement to have health and […]

For immediate release: 24 July 2015 Watered down health and safety bill lets some small businesses off the hook Despite major unions and many business associations uniting in a call for better health and safety standards, the select committee report into the Health and Safety Reform Bill reveals that the government has surrendered to pressure […]

The Labour Party will not support the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement unless key protections for New Zealanders are met, Opposition leader Andrew Little says. “Labour supports free trade. However, we will not support a TPP agreement that undermines New Zealand’s sovereignty. “A meeting of the Labour Caucus this week agreed on five key principles which […]

The Coalition for Better Broadcasting calls on the Minister of Broadcasting, Amy Adams to improve Radio New Zealand funding as a matter of urgency. Radio New Zealand has announced that 20 staff will lose their jobs over the next six months. “Radio New Zealand is being slowly shutdown by this government with a harsh funding […]